Valve for well testing tools



June 21, 1938.

D. U. SHAFFER VALVE FOR WELL TESTING TOOLS Filed July 16, 195"! f ZZ ,Do776x21.

Patented J1me 21, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,121,268 VALVE FORWELL TESTING TbOLS Donald U. Shafl'er, Pico, Calif. Application July 16,1937, Serial No. 153,952.

18 Claims.

This invention is a valve assembly of a type especially for combinationand use with deep well testing tools.

It is very desirable in such tools to incorporate a valve which may bereadily closed before the lower section of the tool is lowered into awell hole or well casing so that the tool may be low- Additionally anopened by a conventional right-hand rotation of the-tool string for theup-fiow of such liquid or gas as may be present at a given level atwhich the packer of the testing tool may be set in the hole or casing asthe situation may involve. Also it is an object to provide that thevalve closing element may, by the same righthand rotation of the stringsection which extends to the head of the well hole, be shifted to engageand close on a second valve seat for the purpose of trapping thereabovea specimen of such fluid as may have passed up through the open valve.

Further, an object is to provide in a valve assembly a pair of axiallyspaced seat members each of which may be readily assembled and removedand replaced as undue wear may require, and a purpose is to provide asingle, simple valve element including a bulbous part with opposite endareas complementary to respective, adjacent faces of the said seatmembers. Particularly, an object is to provide, in a combination of thistype, for the arrangement of the valve seat members as portions of theupper, rotary section of the tool, that is, the section upwardly of thesubjacent packer-carrying and foot end of the tool string, and to whichthe closure device of the valve is operatively attached.

The invention consists of certain advancements in this art as set forthin the ensuing disclosure and having, with the above, additional objectsand advantages as hereinafter developed, and whose construction,combination and details of means and the manner of operation will bemade manifest in the following description of the embodiment shown inthe, annexed, drawing; it being understood that modifications,variations and adaptations may be resorted to within the scope,principle and spirit of the subjoined,

claims.

Figure 1 is an elevational, axial section showing the valve as closedfor lowering the upper screwed into its lower end, and turnably fittedin the nipple is a mandrel 4 having a stop shoulder 5 contiguous to theupper end of the nipple 3.

The mandrel 4 screws at 6 into a tool joint 1 to which any suitablepacker or other apparatus may be attached.

Between the joint I and the nipple 3 there is an anti-friction swivelbearing 8 to take the load of the imposed, upper string section when thelower section attached to the joint 'I is on bottom or the packer (notshown) is set. In this specification all parts connected to the joint Iwill be considered as of the lower section of the string comprising atesting tool, and those parts connected to and turning with the barrel 2will be considered the upper section of the string, that is the tool asa whole.

The mandrel 4 has external, right-hand threads 4 complementaryto theinternally threaded portion of an elongated, hollow stem 9, Fig. 2,having splines ll] slidably'guided in the bore of the barrel 2 androtative thereby to move down from the position in Fig. 1, along thethreads 8 of the mandrel 4 whilst the barrel 2 is turnedright-handandsthe mandrel is stationary, as when the packer is set.

The hollow stem 9 has a bore wall ll receiving packing 12 carried in anextension or sleeve l3 screwed at l4 onto the upper end of the mandrel4. Packing I5 is provided between the mandrel land the nipple 3'.

The stem 9 has a dome 9 with flow ports 9 outwardly of a stem neck 9 onwhich is a removable, bulbous head l8 somewhat of egg-shape with thesmaller end upward, Fig. 1. The larger, lower end of the head 18 isdesigned to close down on an annular seat member l9 screwed at 20 ontothe upper end of the barrel 2, and screwed at 2| into the lower end of abox joint 22 to which is attachable suitable upper string parts of atool.

To provide for fluid flow the neck 9 of the valve element reciprocatesin and well clear of the axial port IQ of the seat IS.

The upper, smaller end of the valve head 18 engages and closes on acomplementary seat member 23 here shown as removably screwing at 24 intothe bore of the box 22. I a

When the test tool has been lowered into the hole or casing and thepacker set so that the joint I and the mandrel 4 will not rotate, and

. the valve head I8 is standing closed on seat 23,

the valve may now be opened by right-hand rotation of the upper stringsection and thereby the barrel 2 with the result that the stem 9 willscrew downwardly on the standing mandrel l and valve head I8 willdescend from its seat 23 to suitable degree and allow upfiow through thehollow mandrel l and the ports 9 of the valve dome 9 thence through thevalve seat rings l9--23 and around the intermediately shifted head l8.The splines I0 cause co-rotation of the valve stem 9 with the barrel 2and permit relative, axial shift of the valve device 9-48.

The well may be flowed as long as desired under careful control of thevalve [8 through the port 23 cf the seat ring 23, or the valve l8 can bemoved down by the further right-hand turn of the barrel 2 so as to closeon the lower seat l8 and shut off upfiow if it be so desired, and thestring may now be pulled from the well and the trapped specimen liftedto the well head for intended disposition.

The present invention is an improvement in thetype of well toolstructures as clearly shown in U. S. Patent No. 263,330, issued toBenjamin Franklin Aug. 29, 1882, and showing the same general mode ofoperation.

What is claimed is:

1. A well testing tool valve including a mandrel section, a rotative,tubular housing section, the latter having coaxial, spaced inner,annular seat members, and a valve head connected to the mandrel sectionand having axially spaced, closing faces respectively complementary tosaid seats and being movable from a closing position on either seat toan intermediate open position.

2. A valve as set forth in claim 1, and in which said seats havedifferential ports and said valve having a stem reciprocative clear inthe larger 3. A well testing tool valve assembly including swivelled,coaxial sections one of which has a mandrel; spaced, coaxial seatmembers arranged in the other section, and a valve device operativelymounted on the mandrel and having a dual faced head closable on andmovable to an open position between said seat members.

4. A valve assembly as set forth in claim 3, and

right-hand thread. means for axially shifting the valve device uponrelative rotation of said sections from one seat to the other.

5. A valve assembly including a mandrel section and' a valve seatsection swivelled thereto and having coaxial, ported seat members, and avalve device mounted on the mandrel section and operative upon relativerotation of said sections to shift between the seat members.

6. A well testing tool valve assembly including an upper string sectionand 'a lower string section coaxially swivelled therewith, one of saidsections having a pair of spaced, coaxial valve seat members, and theother section having a valve to shift between and close on either of theseats upon relative rotation of the sections.

7. A well testing tool valve assembly including an upper string sectionand a lower string section alined and swivelled therewith, one sectionhaving a pair ofcoaxial valve seat members, and the other section havinga valve movable between and closeable on either of said members; saidvalve having a right-hand threaded connection with one section and asplined connection with the other section whereby upon a right handrotation of one section as to the other the valve will be moved from aclosedposition on one seat to an open position and on further similarronation the valve will close on the other seat member.

8. A well-testing tool valve assembly including alined, swivelled, upperand lower sections one of which has spaced ported seat members, and avalve element splined on one of the sections and threaded on the othersection so as to be axially shiftable by rotation of the sectionsrelatively; said valve element having a head shiftable between the seatmembers to open position and to selectively close on either.

9. A valve as set forth in claim 8, and in which the head has a reducedneck coaxial with and working concentrically clear in, and through, theport of one of the seat members and attached to the said other section.

10. A well testing tool valve assembly including alined, swivelled,tubular sections one of which has coaxial, spaced, ported seat members,and a valve head disposed between saidmembers and operatively connectedto each of said sections so as to be shifted therebyto an open positionbetween or a closed position on either of said members upon rotation ofsaid sections relatively.

11. In a valve assembly of the class described, a mandrel section and abarrel section, the latter having coaxial, spaced valve seats, and avalve element slidably keyed to one of said sections and screw threadedon the other and having a head disposed between said seatsand beingshiftable to open between or to close on either of said seats.

12. In a valve assembly of the class described,

"swivelledmandrel and barrel sections, coaxial,

spaced valve seats in one of said sections, and a coaxial valve elementhaving operative connection with each of said seats and provided with aclosure part arranged between and movable from one to the other of theseats by unidirectional rotation of one of said sections as to theother. 4

13. In a valve of the class described, swivelled mandrel and barrelsections, coaxial, spaced, valve seats in the barrel section, and avalve element having a hollow stem between and operatively connected toeach of said sections and apertured for fluid flow through the sectionsand having a neck passing through and clear of one of the seats and ahead on the end of the neck movable between and closeable on either ofthe seats and having an intermediate open position.

14. A valve as set forth in claim 13, and in which stem is slidablykeyed on one of the sections and is screw threaded on the other section.

15. A valve as set forth in claim 13, and in which the mandrel isprovided with means engaging the bore of the stem and of the barrelsection to pack the same.

16. In a valve assembly, a tubular valve stem having a reduced neckconnected thereto by a dome provided with flow ports from the spaceabout the said neck to the stem bore, and a bulbous head on the stemhaving port closure faces on each end.

17. A valve as in claim 16, and including a tool string section providedwith a ported seat forming an annular flow passage about the neck and a.second ported seat at the distal end of the head.

18. A valve as in claim 16, the distal end of said head having anelongate tapered shape to form a flow-bean control with a coordinateseat part.

